


Brothers

by sweetcarolanne



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Acts of Kindness, Arguing, Brothers, Bullying, Childhood, Gen, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-06
Updated: 2017-02-06
Packaged: 2018-09-22 08:22:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9596096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetcarolanne/pseuds/sweetcarolanne
Summary: Despite their differences, and Sirius' bad behaviour, Regulus can never actually hate his older brother...





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [makiyakinabe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/makiyakinabe/gifts).



> Dear recipient, your prompts were so awesome I had to write you another story - I hope you enjoy this treat!
> 
> DISCLAIMER: I do not own the characters and am making no money from this story.
> 
> Many thanks to my anonymous beta!

“Stop it, Sirius, or I’m going to tell Mother! I mean it!”

Regulus Black stood with his hands on his hips and glared at his older brother, trying to make himself look taller and more commanding in his defence of someone he saw as helpless and undeserving of injustice. He knew he wasn’t impressing Sirius at all, however, and had had to bring out the only weapon that remained in his meagre verbal arsenal. Thankfully, it had worked – only fear of Mrs Black’s considerable wrath could make Sirius cease the bullying behaviour that he had obviously decided was an amusing past-time.

Scowling, Sirius reluctantly retrieved the small rubber ball and stuffed it roughly into his pocket. He muttered something that sounded very much like a swear word under his breath, and stuck out his tongue at the house elf who had just slunk away rubbing his sore arm and murmuring grateful praise to the younger of the two Black brothers.

“I didn’t hurt him much, Reg! It was only a game – I was just having some fun with the stupid elf! And why should you care about Kreacher, anyway? You know how horrible he is, always creeping around and spying for Mother… I don’t know why you stand up for the little git. He’s not worth it!”

Sirius shoved his hand into his pocket and gave the ball inside a hard squeeze, already missing the satisfying smack of it striking against Kreacher’s flesh, and the resulting howls of pain from the elf he so detested. He itched to pull the ball out one last time and go in search of Kreacher again, despite the punishment that his formidable mother would mete out to him, but something stopped him before the thought was even fully formed.

Perhaps it was the reproachful look in his brother’s eyes.

“He wouldn’t be so awful to you if you didn’t treat him like that,” Regulus said, and Sirius sighed impatiently.

“He’d be like that anyway – he just hates me,” Sirius snapped, and squeezed the ball again. “It’s lucky for him we’re not allowed to use magic outside of Hogwarts, or I’d hex him. Ugly old thing that he is!”

“I don’t understand you sometimes,” Regulus replied hotly, watching the retreating Kreacher carefully in case Sirius decided to renew his assault. “Ever since you got into Gryffindor, you’ve changed. I thought your house were supposed to be the brave ones, but picking on a house elf like that is just cowardly. None of my friends in Slytherin would act like that. And Bella and Cissy are always kind to Kreacher. Why can’t you be more like them?”

“Big words for a little kid. You’re starting to sound like Mother,” Sirius sniffed, feigning boredom and going off to throw his ball against the nearest wall instead.

Regulus watched him go, feeling another surge of anger at his brother’s indifference and wishing that he could actually hate his older sibling. But despite their considerable differences, somehow he always found that he never could.

He felt inside his own pocket for the small bag of Honeydukes sweets he had been saving to eat later, and decided to go after Kreacher instead and make a present of the delicious treats to the elf. Hopefully that would make the poor old fellow feel a little better.


End file.
